University of Alabama continues gun ban on campus

Sunday

Aug 18, 2013 at 12:01 AM

TUSCALOOSA | With a few exceptions, the University of Alabama will continue its prohibition against the possession of firearms on campus by students, employees and visitors, according to a revised weapons policy released Friday.

By Ed EnochStaff Writer

TUSCALOOSA | With a few exceptions, the University of Alabama will continue its prohibition against the possession of firearms on campus by students, employees and visitors, according to a revised weapons policy released Friday.The revised policy, which goes into effect immediately and is posted on the UA website, was issued in response to a new state law that sought to clarify where and how gun owners could carry and transport their firearms.The law, which went into effect Aug. 1, reinforced the right of gun owners to openly carry firearms in public places and permitted open carry on private property with consent. It also allows concealed-carry permit holders to have handguns on public and private property, with some exceptions.UA’s revised policy — which applies to faculty, staff, students, contractors, patients and visitors — generally continues a ban on the possession, transportation and use of firearms and other dangerous weapons on property owned, leased or controlled by the university and any affiliated foundation or health care entity.Similar policies at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and University of Alabama in Huntsville were also posted Friday afternoon, according to UA System spokeswoman Kellee Reinhart.UA students are still prohibited from possessing firearms on campus, except as expressly authorized by the university police department. The University of Alabama Police Department provides temporary storage for firearms lawfully possessed by students at its headquarters, according to the policy.“It continues to be a violation of the Student Code of conduct for students to have a gun or dangerous weapons on campus,” UA Media Relations Director Cathy Andreen wrote in an email. Students who violate the policy could face sanctions up to and including expulsion.Reinhart said the ban for students includes firearms stored in vehicles.The revised policy prohibits UA employees from carrying firearms on campus or while on the job but, in compliance with the new state law, lets them keep firearms in their vehicles under certain conditions. Employees may have a pistol in their cars with a concealed-carry permit or, if they don’t have a history of violence, may have unloaded long guns for hunting during a permitted hunting season, according to the new law. Pistols can also be transported in vehicles without permits as long as they are unloaded and securely stored out of reach of the driver or any passengers.Employees who violate the policy could face penalties up to and including termination, according to the policy. The revised policy continues the ban on guns at UA facilities hosting athletic events.The revised policy states people including concealed-carry permit holders are strictly prohibited from possessing firearms at facilities that provide inpatient or custodial care for mental health patients and at locations of athletic events, such as Bryant-Denny Stadium, or places where guards and other security features are employed.Andreen declined to discuss specific security measures on campus or how they might be interpreted for application of the policy and the new gun law. The new law allows guns, regardless of permits, to be prohibited at facilities where access is controlled during hours of operation by the presence of guards or security features. The law also requires notices at public entrances advising firearms are prohibited.The consensus among state law enforcement officials is the new law permits universities to keep guns out of stadiums and others venues, though firearms could still be kept secured in vehicles in the parking lot.Andreen said visitors are also prohibited from concealed carry on campus, unless it is under one of the limited circumstances set out in its policy.The policy allows the possession of firearms by law enforcement officers; private security employed by UA or with permission from UAPD; members, coaches and authorized staff of a recognized team or course, such as ROTC, participating in activities that UAPD has pre-approved.People on campus who violate the policy are considered trespassers and responses may include, but are not limited to, removal from campus and a written directive to remain off campus, according to the policy. Violations of state law may be dealt with by appropriate law enforcement, the policy states.The law’s sponsor in the Alabama Legislature, Sen. Scott Beason, said previously he believed the legislation allowed lawful gun owners, including students and employees, to have firearms on college campuses. The Alabama District Attorneys Association and the Alabama Sheriff’s Association, which have offered analysis of the new law to aid in its interpretation by law enforcement officers, maintain the question of property rights versus gun rights may ultimately have to be decided by the courts.Among the legal questions to be hashed out regarding colleges is whether a firearms ban can be applied to students living on campus, according to St. Clair District Attorney Richard Minor, president of the Alabama District Attorneys Association.The new law lists gun owners homes or property under their control as places where they can carry a concealed weapon on their person or in their vehicle without a permit.While the law allows UA and other colleges to limit guns at locations where admission is controlled and security measures are in place, it also states that authority will not be interpreted to limit someone from keeping a firearm in their place of residence or during entrance and egress of their home. “I think the real issue will be the dorms,” Minor said.